Only 40,000 Windows Phone 7 Devices Sold In US

Only 40,000 Windows Phone 7-based smartphones have been sold by wireless carriers in the first 24 hours of its launch in the US.

Despite claiming that the Windows Phone 7 devices are experiencing a 'strong demand', market researchers claim that Microsoft's $100 million ad campaign has resulted in merely 40,000 sales in the US.

Microsoft, or any of its partner carriers, are yet to release their official figures but a source in a market research firm cited by TheStreet claims that only 40,000 handsets have been sold so far.

Compared to the the launch figures of other devices - Apple had sold 500,000 iPhone units over the weekend launch in 2007 while T-Mobile had sold 1.5 million G1 units in the first six months of launch -this would be a disaster for Microsoft, especially as Windows Phone 7 -based handsets have received a positive response from analysts and tech pundits alike.

Roger Entner, an analyst at Nielson told TheStreet: “It's early in the game. Not every product surges right out of the starting blocks. The first Android phone was not a big seller at T-Mobile.”